Ultimately, it’s your experience that matters.

To be sure, we’re proud of our more than 30 years of experience in senior living. But, to us, what really matters is your experience at our communities. We do everything with that idea clearly in mind. So, go ahead, enjoy yourself with great social opportunities and amenities. Savor fine dining every day. And feel assured that assisted living services are always available if needed. We invite you to experience The Piedmont at our upcoming event.

Taste of The Piedmont | Wednesday, November 17th • 4:00pm

You’re invited to a delightful afternoon at The Piedmont the premier retirement address in Buckhead. Enjoy a delicious sampling of hors d’oeuvres especially created by our culinary team and paired with the perfect wine. Afterwards, take a tour of our beautifully appointed community. It’s a great way to get to know us! To make your reservation, please call 404.369.7523 .

she would roast a fat hen or maybe two and have that for Thanksgiving. She said she no longer had a taste for turkey. I applauded her decision. And that was that.

By the way, I got over my turkey aversion many years ago. I especially love smoked turkey.

Charles Seabrook

multiple flavors of Cracker Barrel cheddar blocks for my niece, heavy cream for my son. The battle was on.

My niece followed her other grandmother’s recipe, which calls for mixing the ingredients in a casserole dish. My son believes in making a cheese sauce, which was nearly finished when disaster struck.

In her quest to make space on a stove jammed with pots of collard greens and boiling giblets for gravy, my mother accidentally knocked over the simmering pot of cheese sauce, losing all of it to the stovetop, the browning turkey in the oven and the

Was this the end of the competition? No way! After an all-handson-deck cleanup, my son said he “practically begged” his cousin for some of her ingredients. She “decided to be gracious” and shared.

The millennial macaroni and cheese bakeoff

Something really memorable is pretty much bound to happen at my family’s Texas Thanksgiving gatherings. A few years ago, the big event was the Millennial Macaroni and Cheese Bakeoff, a first for our family.

The whole affair bubbled up when my son and two nieces told my mother they’d like to make the macaroni and cheese dish traditionally served at our holiday meal. Grateful for more cooks and more leftovers, she said yes to each of them.

One of the cooks suggested they compete to see whose macaroni and cheese the family liked best. Two of us — my mother and me — immediately knew we weren’t voting. As Mom put it: “Both of them are my grandchildren!”

The cooks set out to procure their signature ingredients — flavor. To my surprise, he said his daughter’s was rightly the winner because it was creamy, and consistency is key.

When all was done, they placed hot samples of their fragrant dishes on small plates labeled with an A or B. Both choices were delicious. Several people cast votes and my niece won unanimously and peacefully. No calls for a recount. No claims of fraud.

We knew it was best to drop this one before it went any further.

Donna Williams Lewis

In praise of cranberries that come from a can

There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who love

Besides, why mess with perfection? If you insist on getting fancy, buy the canned cranberry sauce with the whole berries in it. A bitter memory I’ve carried from childhood is the time my mother put a cranberry Jell-O mold in front of me on Thanksgiving. I still don’t think I’ve forgiven her yet.

On a table full of savory options, let your sweet tooth get in on the action with the tangy goodness of canned cranberry sauce. Yes, it’s loaded with sugar, but you can technically say your family got at least one serving canned cranberry sauce, and those who are wrong.

Think about it. You’ll spend at least 30 minutes preparing every other dish on your Thanksgiving table. Canned cranberry sauce comes with two instructions: 1) remove from can; 2) serve. You’re done in under a minute.

Do you really need to spend of fruit as they’re falling asleep on the couch. And you can’t top off a dry Thanksgiving leftover sandwich without some tart and juicy cranberry sauce.

Here’s how badly homemade cranberry sauce wants to be canned cranberry sauce: You can buy a ceramic serving dish for your fresh-made cranberry sauce that molds it into the shape of canned cranberry sauce.

Be not fooled by the annual slander against canned cranberry sauce. It will only lead you astray, and you’ll end up washing more dishes.

Tiffany Griffith

One icy Turkey Day, dinner meant frozen pork chops

Later that evening, I couldn’t help but tell my brother that if I’d been forced to vote I would have chosen my son’s mac and cheese because of its mildly spicy another 29 minutes on your feet making homemade cranberry sauce? That’s time you could be spending with your grandkids or preparing for Black Friday Deals. continued on page 14

On one Turkey Day in the early 1990s, my wife, two daughters and I planned to drive from our home in Dallas, Texas, to my brother-in-law’s house in San Antonio, for Thanksgiving dinner and a weekend visit.